In football, there simply is nothing more wondrous and beautiful to watch than this:
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Lionel Messi is the best player in the world.
In any sport.
No bias in me. True, he is my favorite player. But it is more than that. The quality of play that Messi brings to a game is gratifying, to a fan, to watch.
Gratifying is the key word. How many times, as a fan, can you say you were gratified to watch someone play. Satisfied, maybe but gratified? Hard to say that in sports. It takes a transcendent athlete or moment to make us pause and consume what we witness. Pause and reflect on the swirl of emotions they evoke in us. Joy, exhilaration, awe, wonder, excitement, respectfulness, disbelief, amazement and yes, gratefulness.
It is such with Lionel Messi.
What Messi can do on the pitch, with the ball at his feet is unmatched. His movement without the ball, to find a space where there is no space, whittles away at team/country alliances. Quite simply, he is
Brilliance with a ball.
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Reaction from the Twitterverse:
I JUST WITNESSED A HAT TRICK LIVE BY LIONEL MESSI MY LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.
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Martha Martínez. (@vbaldes) June 09, 2012Even when Ronaldo plays in the Euro's, everyone STILL talks more about Messi! #BestInTheWorld
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Florian Demirović (@Floooriaaann) June 09, 2012Also the first hattrick by anybody against Brazil since Paolo Rossi in 1982. #Messi
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Daniel Colasimone (@ArgentinaFW) June 09, 2012Messi connects for three scores at the Meadowlands, and Mark Sanchez realizes Rex Ryan lied about that force field in the end zone.
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sir broosk (@celebrityhottub) June 09, 2012Messi absolutely abused Marcelo on his game-winner/hat-trick capper. Somewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo goes "Of course Messi scored 3 today"
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Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) June 09, 2012Football just wouldn't be as beautiful without Lionel Messi.
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(@FCstartingXI) June 09, 2012***
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